Means for regulating the feed of chemicals in water-softening apparatus.



C. L. KENNICGTT. MEANS FOR REGULATING THE FEED 0F CHEMICALS IN WATER SOFTENING APPARATUS. APPLICATION HLED MARIO. 1916.

1,272,054. Patented my 9, 1918.

CASS L. KENNICOT'I, OF CHICAGO HEIGHTS, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE HALF TO THE PERMUTIT COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE. 1

MEANS FOR REGULATING THE FEED 0F CHEMICALS IN WATER-SOF'IYENING APPARATUS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed March 20, 1918. Serial No. 35,386.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CAss L. KnNmco'r'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago Heights, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Means for Regulating the Feed of Chemicals in Water-Softening Apparatus, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in water-softening apparatus, and more particularly to a means or regulating the feed of chemicals in an apparatus of this kind.

My invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed description' of a specific embodiment thereof, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a diagrammatical verticaL sectional view of the essential portions of a water-softening apparatus constructed in accordance with my invention, and Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view to the regulating valve for the displaclfig water.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 1 designates a vertical cylindrical sedimentation tank, which may be provided with the usual conical bottom 2, and drain or sludge draw-01f 3. In this sedimentation tank there is mounted a member 4, lmown in the art as a downtake, and surrounding the upper end of the downtake there is an annular filter bed 5. An outlet 6 for filtered softened water is tapped into the wall of the sedimentation tank above the level of the filter bed. A. mixing plate 7 the function of which will later appear, is mounted adjacent the upper endof the downtake 4.- Suitably supported above the sedimentation tank there is a fractionating box 8 having a main outlet 9 which discharges directly upon the mixing plate 7. The fractionating box has a separate normally open outlet 10, having a predetermined cross-sectional area properly proportioned to the area of the main outlet 9 as will later appear. For supplying raw water to the fractionating box there is a raw water pipe 11 which may be equipped with a float valve 12. From the small or regulating outlet 10 of the fractionating box 8 the discharge pipe 13 leads downwardly and discharges into a bucket 14 which is guided for vertical movement in a bucket tank 15, being designed to float upon the surface of the liquid in the tank. To maintain a constant level of liquid within the bucket tank for any displacement of the bucket, I may provide an outlet 16 tapped into the wall at the desired level. A cable 17 is connected with the bail of the bucket 14 and leads upwardly over a pair of pulleys 18, and is then turned downwardly and attached to the stem of a suitably formed regulating valve ,19 which is adapted to engage a seat member 20 let into the bottom of the fractionating which discharges into conduit 24 which is adapted to conduct the overflowing chemical to a sump 25 from which it is taken by a centrifugal pump 26 and discharged through a pipe 27, directly upon the surface of the mixing plate 7, there to mingle with the main stream of raw water discharging from the main outlet 9 in the fractionating box. The pump 26 is of such capacity as to empty the'sump 25 with a maximum rate of feed of chemicals to the latter.

The operation of my apparatus as above described is as follows:

The raw water entering the box 8 will there be divided into two streams, a main stream which will discharge from the outlet 9 directly from the mixing plate 7 and a regulating stream which will bear a certain predetermined relation to the main stream at all times, and be discharged through the outlet 10 and pipe'13 into the bucket 14. As the latter becomes filled it will sink within the tank 15, thereby pulling the cable 17 and raising the valve 19 from the seat 20. This will permit a certain predetermined quantit of water, according to the size of the va ve opening and the elevation of the valve, to flow through the displacer pipe 21 and empty into chemical tank 22 which will have been filled with chemicals up to the level of the outlet 23 therein. As the additional fluid from the Patented July o, 1918.

displacer. pipe enters the chemical tank 22 the chemical therein contained Wlll be diluted and therefore increased, whereby a certain proportion of the diluted chemical will in volume overflow through the outlet 23 and be thereby discharged into the sump 25, to be taken up by the pump 26 and discharged upon the mixing plate 7 where it mingles w1th the main stream of raw water from the discharge aperture 9.

It will be noted that as the operation of the water softening apparatus continues,

' opening of the valve will be increased in order that the required larger volume of displacing water may discharge from-the pipe 21 into the chemical tank 22. As the bucket 14: approaches the bottom of the bucket tank 15, that is, as the'run draws near to its close, the dilution of the chemicals in the tank 22 progressively increases until at the end of the run there is practically nothing but pure water in this tank. It will be understood that by the action of the apparatus before described, the parts being'properly proportioned in accordance with the operation required of them, the feed of chemicals will be automatically regulated at all times in proportion to the feed of raw water.

It will be understood that the feed of raw water may be controlled in accordance with the demands for softened water, by any'oi the well known means, these parts of the construction forming no part of my invention. It will also be understood that while I have shown the displacing water as being withdrawn from the fractionating box 8 directly, this is not by any means essential as being possible to take this displacing water from any desired source, so long as the regulating valve 19, or its equivalent be employed.

It will further be understood that as to all the details of construction shown and described, they are to be regarded as 511115 trative only and for the purpose of making the invention more clear. The invention is not to be regarded as limited to such details except in so far as such limitations have been included within the terms of the following claims in which it is my intention to claim all novelty inherent in my invention as broadly as is permissible in view of the prior art.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a water-softening apparatus, means for supplying raw water, means for dividing the water supplied into a main stream and a regulating stream, a bucket tank, a bucket floating therein, means for discharging the regulating 'stream into the said bucket, a chemical containing tank, an overflow for the said chemical containing tank, means for supplying displacing fluid to the said chemical containing tank, means for regulating the supply of said displacing fluid in accordance with the position of the said bucket, said means operating to supply a progressively greater amount of displacing fluid as the bucket progressively lowers, and means for receiving the overflow from the said chemical containing tank and for mixing it with the main stream of raw water. I

2. In a water-softening apparatus, a sedimentation tank, a fractionating box mounted above the said tank, said box having a main outlet discharging directly into the said tank and a regulating outlet, dischargin separately, a bucket tank, a bucket guided for vertical movement therein, means for conducting the discharge from said regulating outlet to said bucket, a chemical containing tank having an overflow, means for supplying displacing water to the said chemical containing tank, a valve controlling the supply of such displacing water, connections between said valve and :said bucket for operating the former by movement of the latter, and means for delivering the diluted chemicals overflowing from the said chemical containing tank into the said sedimentation tank.

CASS L. KENNICOTT. 

